Political Attention Focused on Ewha-young Couple: "Unprecedented Selfless Sacrifice" vs "Lawyer's Weakness to Prosecution"

Regarding the reversal of testimony by former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young, who initially reported the matter of remittances to North Korea to Lee Jae-myung, then Governor of Gyeonggi Province and current leader of the Democratic Party, there is a division of opinion even between the former deputy governor and her husband, leading to varied interpretations in the political sphere. The ruling party criticized Lee's wife for being excessively entrenched in factional logic, calling it an "unprecedented act of putting the country before personal interests," while the opposition claimed, as Lee's wife stated, that "the lawyer has been compromised by the prosecution."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 28th, former People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "The husband is currently trying to reduce his sentence, but the spouse comes out saying, 'Our husband shouldn't do that, we must not cause trouble for the party leader,' so this is truly putting the country before personal interests," she said.

Previously, Lee's lawyer stated that Lee had reported to Lee Jae-myung, but Lee's wife submitted a lawyer dismissal report claiming it was "not true." However, on the 25th during the trial, Lee stated that the dismissal report was not her intention, and the wife shouted, "Get a grip."

Former lawmaker Yoon pointed out, "The problem is that this putting the country before personal interests is not public. The husband seems to think he must now tell the truth to reduce his sentence, but Democratic Party lawmakers are protesting in front of him, giving him money for detention, and the wife is calling for a declaration of conscience. This so-called putting the country before personal interests is not public or truthful but rather the opposite."

On the same day on CBS radio, former lawmaker Kim Young-woo said, "The wife is trying to completely dismiss Lee's legal team, and there is a clear disagreement between the couple. Lee has testified to the prosecution that he reported, and that is the truth," he said.

He added, "After that, it is rather Democratic Party lawmakers and the wife who are applying pressure, but it is not working well. Regarding the dismissal of the lawyer, Lee says it is not true at all and that he never agreed to it," criticizing, "From the wife's perspective, factional and ideological logic seems to take precedence over family."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party shares the same stance as Lee's wife, claiming that the lawyer was coerced by the prosecution. Hyun Geun-taek, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' that "the lawyer dismissal is also being demanded by the wife," adding, "The wife is not just a third party. For example, would the party have ordered the dismissal of the lawyer? From the wife's perspective, the lawyer might have been compromised by the prosecution in connection with the controversial leak case," he said. The legal team is currently under investigation by the prosecution regarding the leak of Lee's trial records.

The Democratic Party is concerned that if Lee's reversal of position is true, there is a possibility that an arrest warrant could be requested for Lee Jae-myung. On the previous day, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-chun said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "Our party was startled by this, and it seems to be due to the reversal of testimony or change of position and feelings," adding, "If Lee Hwa-young, who was the last gatekeeper, is breached, an arrest warrant could be issued. If the National Assembly is in session, a vote on the arrest consent motion must be held."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.